Public Defender's Office to Examine Investigation into June 20-21 Events

On 2 July 2019, the Public Defender's Office started the examination of the criminal case of an alleged abuse of power by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the June 20-21 rallies in front of the Parliament building.

The Public Defender's Office says it will evaluate the investigation process by taking into account the international standards of effective investigation. Independence, timeliness, accuracy, and competence of investigation, as well as the involvement of the victims in the process, will be the evaluation criteria. 

“The specifics of monitoring the investigation of the June 20-21 developments are extraordinary and different from the previous practice of the Public Defender's Office. The Office has never identified shortcomings and issued recommendations at the early stage of an investigation. In the past, the Public Defender has introduced the examination results in relation to several cases, but in all those cases, quite a long time had passed since the launch of the investigation and it was possible to fully evaluate the investigation. Tthe investigation of the June 20-21 developments will see the Public Defender having to evaluate the criminal case materials in the course of the investigation process. Despite the lack of experience in this direction, the Public Defender's Office will do its best to assess the investigation in accordance with human rights standards and provide interim and final recommendations to the prosecutors," reads the statement released by the Public Defender's Office.

"The Public Defender's Office cannot replace the supervisory function of the Prosecutor's Office. Moreover, the Office cannot perform investigative functions. The role of the Public Defender's Office will be to evaluate the effectiveness of the investigation carried out by the investigative body and to develop relevant recommendations to the prosecutors.

"We call on the public to cooperate with the investigative authorities and provide them with any information/documentation at their disposal. If you have any complaint regarding the investigation process, please contact the Public Defender's Office".

Photo: Public Defender Nino Lomjaria/Facebook 

By Ana Dumbadze